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Roque: Nothing immoral in Duterte kissing married woman

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Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said there was nothing immoral with President Rodrigo Duterte kissing a married woman in public, noting the woman herself did not complain about it.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/04/18/no-malice-in-duterte-kiss-says-filipina-in-south-korea">&#x27;No malice&#x27; in Duterte kiss, says Filipina in South Korea</a></li></ul>Duterte has been heavily criticized for kissing on the lips a Filipino woman in front of hundreds of overseas Filipino workers in Seoul, South Korea, where the chief executive is on an official visit.&quot;I don’t think there’s anything immoral. After all, the President has reiterated he is single,” Roque said in a press briefing in Seoul.Duterte&#x27;s marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman, the mother of his three children - Paolo, Sara, and Sebastian - was nullified in 2000.The President has a common-law wife, Honeylet Avancena. They have a daughter, Veronica.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/halalan2016/video/focus/05/13/16/honeylet-avancea-kamay-na-bakal-sa-likod-ni-duterte">READ: Honeylet Avancena, Duterte&#x27;s lady love</a></li></ul>Roque said it is only Bea Kim, the woman kissed by Duterte, who has the right to complain about the incident.&quot;The woman volunteered and the woman said she was very proud of that experience,&quot; the President&#x27;s spokesman said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/03/18/watch-duterte-kisses-pinay-onstage-in-south-korea">WATCH: Duterte kisses Pinay onstage in South Korea</a></li></ul>“If she’s not complaining, I don’t think anyone else should,” Roque added.“The President, of course, has had a policy of doing what he does because he does things the way he does things. If some people are offended, so be it.”Duterte’s move has been met with criticisms online, with some saying what happened was still wrong even if it was consensual.“A person in power, [especially] a President, who solicits sexual favor--a kiss on the lips--before a hooting throng is acting inappropriately. The misconduct? Misuse of power, the [Office of the President]. It&#x27;s what sexual harassment is all about. He shouldn&#x27;t have placed her on the spot,” said former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay.“Liberal feminism makes it seem like having ‘consent’ is enough. Consent is not given in a vacuum,” said Twitter user “Marc #DuterteResign”.“A lot of women would ‘consent’ to subjugating themselves to their husbands in accordance with their religious beliefs. There’s consent, but there’s also injustice.”Women’s rights group Gabriela, meanwhile, said the kiss was &quot;disgusting theatrics of a misogynist President who feels entitled to demean, humiliate or disrespect women according to his whim.&quot;Gabriela said it was &quot;unfortunate that the woman found it her obligation to publicly defend the act as &#x27;[without] malice.’&quot;

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said there was nothing immoral with President Rodrigo Duterte kissing a married woman in public, saying the woman herself did not complain about it.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said there was nothing immoral with President Rodrigo Duterte kissing a married woman in public, saying the woman herself did not complain about it.

Roque: Nothing immoral in Duterte kissing married woman

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Roque: Nothing immoral in Duterte kissing married woman

Dharel Placido,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 05, 2018 11:59 AM PHT

|

Updated Jun 05, 2018 12:25 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

Kiss

Harry Roque

South Korea

Women's Rights

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